


Strategy

by orphan_account



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-01
Updated: 2015-05-01
Packaged: 2018-03-26 14:39:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3854449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fusions might be a cheap tactic, but they're still a valid one</p>
            </blockquote>





	Strategy

The sound of the boulder being rolled across the entrance to the cave filled the small opening with noise, the echoes bouncing off the walls and amplifying each other. Steven covered his ears as he was swallowed in darkness. With a final grunt, the boulder was in place. They were safe. For now. 

"Yo, anyone got a light?" a voice asked the cave.

"I got it, Amethyst!" There was a rustling, then a soft white glow filled the cave. Steven set down the battery-powered lantern in front of him. "There, can everyone see?"

Murmurs of assent filled the cave. A green hand bent down and picked up the lantern. "Peridot, what are you-"

There was a whirring sound, and the light from the lantern grew much brighter. "There," Peridot said, setting the lantern back down. "Not ideal, but satisfactory."

"Wow, thanks Peridot," said Steven. He could now see the other seven bodies in the cave pretty clearly. They were clustered around the lantern, looking somewhat worse for wear, but all were at least standing. "Oh, Pearl, your arm."

Pearl was leaning against the cave wall opposite Steven, holding her arm across her chest. "Oh, Steven, it's fine. I'll be fine."

"No, here." Steven licked his hand and pressed it against Pearl's arm. She stiffened at the damp touch, but her expression softened after a moment. She experimentally extended her arm. "Wow, good as new. Thank you, Steven."

"No problem." Steven looked around. "Does anyone else need healing?"

No one said anything. Jasper and Garnet had settled into the cave, both being tall enough that they were brushing against the cave's ceiling. Jasper sat between Lapis and Peridot, Garnet strode over to Amethyst's left, next to Pearl. 

Steven walked over and sat down in front of Lion, leaning against him. "Okay, so what's the plan?"

"Plan?" Jasper asked incredulously, " _Plan?_ Rose, we almost got annihilated. There are too many drones our there. If we go out again, we're dead."

"We don't need to beat them all," Garnet said, not looking up, "We simply need to get to the Warp Pad. The caves go on for miles, but there is another entrance close to the Warp. We get there, we get to the Warp, we get back to the Temple."

"Easier said than done," Lapis said, "We can't take the drones as we are now. We barely got out of that alive."

Jasper balled her hands into fists and punched her knees. "If only we had more warriors," she said, gritting her teeth in frustration.

There was silence for a moment. "We don't need more," Garnet said, slowly, "We need _less_. We need to fuse."

There was a brief moment of silence, followed by a sharp burst of laughter from Pearl. "Oh," she said as she quieted down, "You were being serious? Garnet, there are six of us. A fusion of that size would be far too unstable. Not to mention too big for the Warp Pad. And it would take days to learn each other's dances, practice the subsets within-"

"But you don't need to," Steven said, "The drones couldn't handle two of you guys. So you just need three fusions."

"That still leaves forty-five combinations," Peridot said. "And we don't have time to try them all out. They'll figure out we're in here within an hour."

"Well, okay," started Steven, "We know Opal works. Sugilite would help but she can be... aggressive-"

"Try awesome!" Amethyst interjected.

"And," Steven continued, "Malachite is, well..." Jasper and Lapis looked away from each other. "Yeah, that one's off the table."

"That leaves forty-two," Peridot said, "Still too many."

"We could guess," Lapis suggested. "Steven is right - fusions would be better at taking out the drones than if we just paired off."

"Hmm," Steven got up and started pacing. "Gems that want to fuse need to be compatible, right? So that way, they'll stay together. But not _too_ compatible, or else they lose themselves in the fusion, like Sugilite."

"Man, this Sugilite sounds like a riot," Jasper said. 

Pearl rolled her eyes. "You have no idea."

"So-" Steven snapped his fingers. "Okay, hang on. Jasper and Garnet, you should be a fusion. You both like beating stuff up, but you don't exactly like each other, so you wouldn't turn into another Sugilite. Pearl and Peridot, you should fuse too. You're both really smart and precise and stuff, I think you two will go well together. And Amethyst and Lapis, you two are both more impulsive than the others, so you should be the third fusion."

There was silence in the cave for a moment. "Steven,” Pearl started, “That was a good try, but I don't think-"

"No, wait," Jasper said, her brow furrowed in concentration. "Rose might be on to something. Garnet, if we fused, we would be _huge_ "

Garnet smirked. "We would. My future vision and your strength? We'd be near-unstoppable."

"And Peridot, you and Pearl do talk about science and tech stuff all the time. Maybe if you two fused you could actually, y'know, have a good idea." Jasper cracked a grin.

"Hey!" Peridot said, frowning. 

Jasper turned to Lapis. "And you and Amethyst are always goofing off and daydreaming, so, you two could work. Okay, yeah,” Jasper was smiling now, “This might actually work. I'm glad you inherited a decent sense of battle tactics, Rose.”

Steven beamed. "Thanks!"

Garnet stood up. "There's a opening deeper in the caves that's big enough for us to practice. Let's go.”

The rest of the team stood up. Garnet rustled Steven's hair as she walked by him. "Good job, Steven."

"Thanks, Garnet."

Garnet led the way to the cave opening. It was about ten meters to a side, with walls dotted with small blue crystals. Steven set the lantern down in the center of the room, then went to Lion, who again found a cool section of wall to lean against. He took out a snack from his backpack and started munching away, snuggling up against Lion.

The three pairs were already dancing. Jasper and Garnet were doing a sort of Tango/Salsa hybrid, easing in and out of each other's hands. Amethyst and Lapis were twirling around, laughing as they spun around the other two pairs. Pearl and Peridot were doing a waltz, very controlled and calculated. Soon, all seven gems started to glow, and the room was bathed in a rainbow of pastel light.

"This is gonna be so cool," Steven whispered to Lion.

Lion opened his eyes, grunted, then closed his eyes again. "Love you too, Lion."

**Author's Note:**

> A snapshot sketch thing to dip my toe into the world of SU fanfiction. More to come, hopefully.
> 
> Headcannon: The fusion pairings above, basically. Also, Jasper can't not call Steven after his mom, but he learns to roll with it. 
> 
> Also, gem fusion math! If you have six gems and want a pair, then there are fifteen different ways to get your pair (6c2). Once you have your pair, there are three possible combinations that can be made from the remaining four (ABCD -> AB CD, AC BD, AD BC). So, forty-five possible combinations.


End file.
